Columnist

“And what,” my Missus’ show asked, “should the collective noun be for the seven Australian golfers going into the Masters tomorrow?”

My answer: The “Good Things”. As in – with thanks to "Buddha" Handy – “Go you GOOD THINGS!"

Apart from everything else, it is probably Greg Norman who can take the deepest bow for this hard-rising generation, as he was at his height and his most inspirational when most of these blokes were just starting to sniff the wind, looking for direction in life. Like a Norman drive off the first tee and straight down the fairway – back when the days were good – these blokes appear to have followed the broad path he blazed.

So here they are, in rough order of how fantastic a story it would be if they won.

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Jason Day. Has to be the best-hearted bloke on the tour, doesn’t he? Been knocking on the door in the past three years – and has come second or equal second three times in majors. And, yet, despite having wretched luck on two of those occasions to be denied, he has never been seen to drop his head, snarl or shake his fist at the golfing gods who have snatched the prize away, just when he was so close. Sports fans most want to follow people they can admire for their character, too, and the joy that Day evinced last year when Adam Scott won, leaving him behind in third place, was beyond admirable – even though Day was the man in the lead with six holes to go. What a story if he gets up! It could even move Day to the position of No. 1 in the world and give Australia two players in the top three.

Adam Scott. The story would be: the defending champion holds on! Hasn’t been done since Tiger Woods – if you remember him – did it in 2002. Scott is obviously already a brilliant player, but this would put him on the edge of generational superstar territory. Like Day now, Scott had been threatening without ever quite getting there – including being runner-up at the 2011 Masters and then seeing it all fall away at the 2012 British Open, just when he was so close – and his performance last year was as classy as it gets. And you’ll remember, when he hit what appeared to be the winning putt on the 72nd hole, how he charged forward shouting “Come on, Aussies!” And then, after finally achieving victory on the 10th hole of the playoff, his first words were more than gracious.

“There was one guy who inspired a nation of golfers,” he said, “and that's Greg Norman ... and part of this belongs to him.”

Bravo. Be wonderful to see him do it again.

Marc Leishman. Ah, how quickly you forget! Last year, he was the bloke who led the Masters after the first day and though he faded a little in succeeding days, was still in with a chance over the last few holes, before finishing tied for fourth. But, like Day, the most revealing thing about him was his fist pump of unbridled joy when Scott hit what appeared to be the winning putt. A lesser man would have been hangdog sad that it wasn’t him, but not a bit of it from the Warrnamboolian. Great to see him win this year, and have the others doing fist pumps for him. (The bonus? We wouldn’t have Australians in the crowd reprising Billy Moore and shouting “QUEENSLANDER!” “QUEENSLANDER!” as he won. “VICTORIAN!” Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.)

John Senden. There are few things in sport better than seeing someone who is an otherwise journeyman, in the twilight of their career, achieve the dream that appears to have passed them by. After a victory drought lasting eight years, just last month the 42-year-old won only his second US PGA event, after having previously won the Australian Open in 2006, before coming fourth in the 2007 US PGA. Look, we probably don’t know enough about him for it to be the truly perfect win, but we would learn soon enough!

Steven Bowditch. Show me a bloke with depression so bad that – according to Golf Digest, eight years ago he made an attempt on his life – now achieving the dream of his youth, and I will show you inspiration everywhere. True, he was ranked 336th in the world before winning his first US PGA event at the Texas Open last week, so it is unlikely, but if he can win then, why not this time? On Tuesday, The Boston Globe quoted him talking about the first thing he did when he arrived for the Masters; he went to the spot where Scott secured victory last year.

“Where was that pin? Where was Scotty’s putt? That was actually the first thing when I got up there,” Bowditch said. “I think it started last year here, I think this is really where the ball started rolling with Scotty, and Jason Day. What those guys have done for Australian golf has been unbelievable.”

And so say all of us.

Matt Jones. The 33-year-old is from Sydney. Say no more. ’Cept this. He’s the bloke you’ve seen replays of all week, nailing the two best shots of his life – including a chipped birdie from 30 metres out in the playoff – to win the Houston Open. He’s in form, and in the Masters for the first time.

Olivier Goss. Hello, Tiger Woods? This bloke turns 20 on Saturday, and gets his ticket into the big show because he was runner-up in the US Amateur championship. In the highly unlikely event that he were to win it, our rising generation of golfers would suddenly have a rising generation behind it, and perhaps to make it fair for golfers of other countries, Australians would have to agree to play left-handed or the like!

Either way, for the moment, everyone after me: “Go you GOOD THINGS!”

Twitter: @Peter_Fitz

5 comments so far

How about we call them 'lapsed catholics' - they probably won't be there on Sunday.

Commenter

A Pox On Both Your Houses

Date and time

April 09, 2014, 11:21PM

Spoken like a true sour puss,,take a cold shower.

Commenter

Circling buzzard

Location

Fremantle

Date and time

April 10, 2014, 7:39AM

What a cynical response. Our Aussie golfers have done great things in recent times.